


Colour me Interested

by agoodpersonrose



Series: Nice To Meet You [5]
Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, First Kiss, First Meetings, Fluff, Hiking, Hospitals, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Meet-Cute, Minor Injuries, One Shot, Sibling Bonding, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2020-06-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:41:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24606355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agoodpersonrose/pseuds/agoodpersonrose
Summary: David is finally convinced to go on a hike with Alexis, and meets someone along the way.
Relationships: Alexis Rose & David Rose, Patrick Brewer/David Rose
Series: Nice To Meet You [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1768825
Comments: 42
Kudos: 256





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the fifth work in a series of Meet-Cutes I'm writing this month. Everything is the same except that David and Patrick didn't meet at Ray's for various different reasons.

“Oh, come on, David. It’ll be fun!”

David is far too nice a person. He should be less nice. He should learn how to say no. Especially in situations such as this when his generous nature is being manipulated so cruelly. 

Alexis pouts at him and waves her little dinosaur hand around in a way that is meant to be encouraging. “I just- I really need this right now, David. I don’t want to go on my own.” She looks genuinely uncomfortable at this admission, and David feels his resolve slipping as he watches her. 

Honestly, Alexis has had a hard couple of months; finishing her high school diploma and working at the vets in the first real job of her life. The whole situation with Ted and Heather has made things incredibly awkward for everyone, and David still feels bad that he dragged her to Heather’s farm accidentally on a vendor visit just a short week before because he hadn’t wanted to do that on his own. 

He supposes it’s her turn for a selfish, and hesitantly nods. 

“Oh, yay, David!” She exclaims, jumping up and down and clapping her hands together. “This is going to be so fun for us!”

“I am not camping though; only the hike.” He says, with a pointed finger from where he is sat on one of the small chairs around the table in their room. 

“Oh my God, I can’t wait. I already have a route planned.” 

David rolls his eyes, but smirks nonetheless as she buzzes around him. 

“You’ll have to choose an outfit as well; you can’t wear one of your sweaters on the hike, David. You’ll damage it!”

“Yes, fine, I’ll wear sweat appropriate clothing. Now, are we done here? Can I get back to my reading?”

“What are you even reading, David?” Alexis asks, poking the book to flip it and reveal the cover, “Ew, what is this?”

“It’s about profit margins and how to make money through commission. It’s for the store.” David says blankly.

“Why don’t you just ask Dad to do it for you?”

David groans, “That is not the point of this; I’m doing it for myself. I don’t want his help.”

Alexis pulls another face but shrugs and heads out the door on her run, leaving David to his reading. “Pick some clothes; we’re leaving bright and early tomorrow morning.” She says, spinning one final time on her heel to look at him before slipping out of the door and letting it slam behind her. 

David groans, dropping his head to rest on the open book for a moment before sighing, and focusing back on reading. 

*** 

If it’s David’s generous spirit that leads to him being forced out of the comfort of his bed at seven am on a Sunday morning to be dragged up a mountain with his sister, then he would rather be selfish.

It’s not exactly his idea of a perfect day, and he lets Alexis know this as he changes into a pair of dropped-crotch sweatpants and a black t-shirt, with a loose hoodie shoved over his shoulders and his sunglasses hiding his eyes from the early morning light.

“Is that what you’re wearing?” David asks as Alexis steps out from the bathroom in her usual jogging gear; a turquoise pair of leggings and a cropped sports bra.

“Um, yes, why?” She asks, looking down at herself. 

“I thought we were hiking, not jogging?”

“We are hiking, these are the only workout clothes I’ve got!” She says, stomping her foot moodily, “Are you really wearing those shoes? They’re Rick Owens!”

“What--” David look down at them, and lifts his foot up to inspect his high-topped sneakers, “What is wrong with these?”

“They’re designer, they don’t offer any support! You’re gonna end up twisting your ankle!”

“Hiking is just walking though, why would I change them?”

Alexis frowns a little but shrugs. She doesn’t really know any better than him as this is her first attempt at a real hike. But, as she told David, she is looking to branch out and try different things. It’s an attempt at working out who she is before she falls back into another relationship. It’s meant to be good for her. 

She insists that it will be good for David as well. Apparently, he has been spending too much time working on the store; he had vastly underestimated how much work it would be for him alone, and now that he has an opening day event planned for a week later, the pressure is only rising.

The hike is intended to de-stress the both of them. Alexis had heard about the area from Mutt when they were dating and decided that now was the time to try it out. She refused to go alone, and so, David was joining her. 

They climb into the family car with only minimal complaining, quietly bickering to avoid waking their parents and being subjected to a rant about the sign-out sheet. The hiking spot is only a half-hour drive away, and they listen to the radio on the journey without talking. 

“How long is this hike anyway?” David asks as Alexis puts the car in park and they climb out to grab their backpacks. 

“The route we’re taking is just under eight miles. We’re going to go to the top of the hill, which is only two miles away, and then after lunch we’re going to take the long route back around the valley.”

David freezes, “I’m sorry, what?”

“You heard me, David. We’re here now and you already agreed so stop making a fuss.” Alexis says, and pulls one bag onto her back. 

“Where did you even get these from?” David asks, plucking at his with distaste.

“Stevie lent them to me.” Alexis replies, her lip is also upturned showing her own disgust, “They were all I had access to. It’s not like I could ask Ted, is it?”

David tips his head to one side. It’s not as if Ted would have anything better than the camouflaged bags they are currently sporting anyway. They may be giving him horrible flashbacks to the nightmare of a hunting trip he had taken a short year before, but he supposes nobody important will have to see him like this, so he tightens the straps over his hoodie and rolls his eyes. 

“Come on then, let’s get this over with.” He says, with attitude. 

“Yay, David!” Alexis exclaims, slapping his arm as they head up towards the entrance to the treeline.

Hiking with Alexis isn’t the torture he had expected. The world is silent, and at first, so is she. The air is fresh as they wind their way around trees and over roots, and there is the faint sound of birds singing in the distance which actually makes for a very soothing aura. 

A while passes, nearly half an hour, and Alexis and David start chatting. The calm atmosphere of the early morning has shifted as the sun has emerged, heating them as they huff and puff, clambering the small slope they had approached. 

“This is- like- harder than I thought.” Alexis says after a while. She’s slightly red in the face, and she’s sweating, but no more than David is; a drop of sweat drips down his forehead and over his eye which makes him jump, Alexis laughing next to him.

“Ew!” He says, pouting at her as she giggles at him, holding her stomach. 

“Come on, David. The first checkpoint isn’t far, and we can have some food and a drink.” She says, tugging at his arm to get him to keep walking.

They find her checkpoint and take a seat on a rock sticking out from the ground. David takes a long, slow sip of his drink and relishes in the hydration. They break open an energy bar and split it between them as they sit and look around. 

“This isn’t so bad, is it David?” Alexis says, nudging him with her foot. 

He hums noncommittedly and takes another bite of the peanut butter bar. “This would be better with chocolate chips in it.” He says. 

Alexis breathes a laugh at that but nods as she chews her own mouthful. As they are relaxing against the stone in the shade, they see a shadow of someone approaching along the path. 

“Morning,” the man says as he walks past, waving a hand at the pair of them in a friendly way. He’s clearly well-practiced with the path. He’s wearing a cheap t-shirt and cargo shorts, with a backpack hoisted up on his shoulders. He’s cute in an unassuming way, and Alexis clearly agrees with David on this as she waves a flirty hand at him. 

“Morning.” David says quietly in response, following his body with his eyes. His gaze must linger a moment too long on his retreating figure as Alexis slaps him with a weak hand and pulls an excited face. “What?” He hisses at her as she wriggles in his seat.

“Don’t worry David, if we get going now then we’ll be able to catch up with him, and you can shoot your shot.” She adds emphasis to her statement by poking him harshly in the chest in time with the last few words.

“Okay, none of that, thank you very much,” He says, rolling his eyes as they stand up and throw their packs back onto their backs. “Let’s go.”

“Oh, come on David!” Alexis continues as they start walking, “How long has it been since you dated someone. And Jake doesn’t count because he was dating Stevie first.”

David stays silent. She has a point. He hadn’t really been dating Jake or Stevie; more just sleeping with them on the occasion that the mood required it. Alexis, at least, had had two real relationships in Schitt’s Creek, even if they had both resulted in heartbreak. 

“Come on; I’m sure we can catch up with that guy.” Alexis insists, pulling him by the arm to get him to hurry up, and David is powerless to resist her as they tumble along the path. 

At the next turning they find him sat at a rock similar to the one they had been perched on, drinking from his water-bottle. He looks up at them as they approach and smiles.

“Hello again.” He says politely. 

“Oh my God! Fancy seeing you again!” Alexis exclaims with too much excitement, moving closer to tap him lightly on the arm. “My brother, David, was just saying how he hoped we’d pass you again.”

“Oh, really?” Patrick asks, turning to look at David with more interest. 

“Yeah, he was like, super excited--” 

“No, I wasn’t.” David interrupts, “Alexis, we should go and leave this guy alone--”

“Patrick.”

“Excuse me?”

“Well, you called me ‘this guy’, but I have a name, and I thought you might want to know it. It’s Patrick.” He says, and he’s smiling as if he knows something David doesn’t.

“Oh. Um, I’m David.” 

“I heard.” Patrick says, gesturing towards Alexis who is stood between them looking like the cat that got the cream. 

“Um, so, we’re gonna go. Leave you to your hike.” David says, glaring at Alexis who thankfully gives in and follows him with little resistance. 

“Nice to meet you, David.” Patrick calls as they walk away. 

“Okay--”

Alexis keeps poking him until they’ve gone around the next corner, when David shakes her off. “Oh my God, stop.” He says.

“David!” She drawls, “He was like, super into you. He barely even looked at me twice and he didn’t even ask for my number. You know what that means!”

“What does it mean, Alexis?” David asks sarcastically. 

“Well, in my experience, it means he’s either newly married, or he’s gay.” She says in a serious voice, strolling along next to him at a more sedated pace, “Do newly married people go for long hikes like this on their own?”

“How would either of us know that?”

Alexis scoffs but stays silent, and David takes that as a win as they continue their walk. They stop again twice more but there’s no sign of Patrick so he assumes that he must have gone on a different path. He ignores the little stab of disappointment at that thought and focuses on putting one foot in front of the other, and occasionally nudging his sister to make her stumble slightly.

It’s about an hour and a half into the walk when they finally arrive at the hilltop that Alexis was so eager to find, and they sit down on the rock edge to eat their lunch. 

“There’s like, no signal up here.” Alexis says, holding her phone up to the sky as if that will make any difference. “How am I meant to post an Instagram like this?”

“I think your many followers can wait a half hour to see your selfie.” David says with a scoff, digging into his sandwich with unrestrained glee. “This was a good idea though.” He says, his mouth stuffed full, “Thank you for making me do this.”

This gets Alexis’ attention, and she grins widely at him. “Aww, David!” She exclaims, poking his nose, “Aren’t you just the cutest!”

He rolls his eyes but smiles at her slightly. 

“Can I use your phone for a minute to see if you have signal?” She asks, and David passes her his iPhone without a second thought, knowing that it’s quicker and easier just to let her do what she wants. “Oh, yay! You have a bar!” She says, waving her hands around.

In her excitement, she somehow manages to throw the phone down the ledge slightly and it clatters to rest a couple of stones down. Logically it’s easily accessible, but Alexis looks nervously at David as they sit in silence, both looking at it.

“I mean- you’ll be able to get that.” Alexis says, looking at her brother and wincing at the fury in his face. 

“Alexis!”

“Ugh, fine, I’ll get it!” Alexis says, moving to climb down but being stopped by David’s arm. 

“Okay, you’ve done enough damage.” He says, standing up and looking at the rocky edge cautiously to plot a route. “Stay where you are.” He says. The incline isn’t too treacherous, and there is no real risk of falling down the cliff face since it’s slightly off to the side. At worst, he might fall and be stopped by the treeline a couple of metres further on, so he steels himself and somehow manages to clamber down safely to retrieve his phone. 

As he climbs back up however, his ankle gets caught on a loose piece of rock, and he falls on his face, catching himself on his arms with a thud. 

“Oh my God! David?” Alexis screeches from above him. She’s really not that far away, and with her help, David manages to pull himself up the rest of the way onto the rock next to her, before turning to look down at his body scanning for damage. 

When his eyes hit his ankle, he pales, and starts shaking. It’s then that the pain begins to register, and he lets out a pathetic whimper, clutching his foot. 

“David,” Alexis says quietly, “That does not look good.”

He manages to hum in agreement but is forced to close his eyes to stop from passing out. 

“Hey, are you guys okay up here?” A voice yells out, and great. Just what David needs, for the cute guy from earlier to see him in this condition. David keeps his eyes closed and doesn’t react, focusing on the pulsing pain in his ankle and on not throwing up the sandwich which had hardly hit his stomach. 

“Thank God!” Alexis replies, “I’m going to run down the hill a bit to get a signal, you wait here.” She instructs and is off without waiting for a response. 

David whimpers again, unable to stop himself, as he focuses on breathing. The air is cool up here, but he’s sweating and shaking from the panic and the pain. He doesn’t want to move in case it hurts his ankle, but he also can’t feel his arse from how he’s sat. 

He is so focused on distracting himself with his surroundings that he jumps when Patrick crouches down next to him.

“David?” Patrick says softly, “Can you tell me if you’ve hurt yourself anywhere else?”

“My ankle.” He croaks out.

“Yes, I see that. Is there anywhere else?”

Patricks hands begin to ghost over David’s shoulders and pull his hoodie off bit by bit. David lets him; too weak to resist, and it’s bundled up and placed under his ankle. He winces as his leg is moved and a spike of pain travels up his shin but lets out a breath of relief as his ankle is cushioned on the fabric. 

“Is that better?” Patrick asks. When David opens his eyes, the other man is crouched right in front of him, his brown eyes widened with concern. “Hi,” He says with a smile, “You had me worried for a minute there. Is there anywhere else you’ve injured?”

David holds up his right hand which is scraped from the rock, and bleeding slightly. Patrick tuts quietly as if he is comforting a child and reaches into his bag to pull out a first-aid kit. Out of it, he pulls a small pack of disinfectant wipes, and starts gently wiping down the cuts. Once finished, he holds it in front of his face and blows lightly on it, finally he pulls a bandage out to wrap around the wound. 

“There we go. It’s not permanent but we don’t need to worry about gangrene.” He says.

“Why do you have a first aid kit?” David asks, wincing as he absent-mindedly fidgets, and his ankle makes another twinge of complaint. 

“You should always carry a first-aid kit, David.” Patrick says, and he’s smiling, but it falters as he sees David’s pained expression. “It won’t do much for your ankle though. We should probably work out a way of getting you to a hospital.”

David nods as Patrick helps him raise to one foot. His left ankle is already swollen, and the shoe digs into his inflamed skin. Patrick helps him untie it and shoves it in his own bag for safekeeping. 

Alexis chooses this moment to re-emerge from the tree line, having been unable to contact anyone due to the shaky signal, and she takes David’s other side as they slowly make their way back towards the cars. 

*** 

David couldn’t tell you how they make it all the way down that mountain. He knows that every time he brings it up, Alexis moans and rolls her eyes at him, and Patrick laughs and tells him that it’s not a mountain but actually a very big hill, which does nothing to help the situation. He leans heavily onto the other man for the whole journey; Patrick is deceptively strong and is extremely supportive as David hops the return pathway through the trees. 

It’s surprisingly quick; only taking just over an hour to return to civilisation when they follow the emergency path straight downwards, and Patrick offers to drive them to the hospital in his car since he is parked closer to them on the side of the road.

When they arrive at the hospital, they sit side-by-side on the cheap plastic chairs as Alexis fills in his details on the corkboard provided. 

“You don’t have to stay, you know.” David says, despite the fact that he’s half leaning on Patrick across the armrest. 

“I know,” Patrick replies, smiling again and shaking his head. “I insist, I’m not just going to leave you here.” 

“Oh, okay.” David says, unable to control his own shy smile at this response. 

They manage their way through triage. Patrick offers distraction in discussion about recent pop culture gossip which he doesn’t fully understand, giving David an opportunity to correct him eagerly. 

Alexis keeps pulling faces at him behind Patrick’s head, but David just ignores them, rolling his eyes. Eventually, David gets so sick of her hovering that he sends her to go and collect some drinks whilst they wait, coincidentally giving him some alone time with Patrick. 

With his sister gone, Patrick seems to soften around the edges; he talks to David in a low, soft voice, offering re-assurances constantly and checking in as they chat idly. 

Patrick falters for conversation for a while, but when it becomes clear that David will not be able to respond or contribute anymore, he focuses on rambling about various topics in an attempt to keep him distracted. It turns out Patrick is a baseball fan. He spends a large amount of the time in the waiting area talking about a recent game which David is in no way interested in but is too busy biting his teeth together to stop from crying out from the pain in his ankle. 

Finally, the X-Rays come back, and they are brought back in to meet the doctor. 

“Yep, it’s broken.” He says, pulling up the pictures of David’s ankle on a screen. Alexis still hasn’t returned from her coffee run yet, so Patrick is sat next to him, rubbing his back supportively. “It’s not too bad, it should take just under two months to heal. We’re going to have to put you into a plaster cast. We’ll book you an appointment with the fracture clinic who will see you next week for a review.”

They are passed from the Doctor to the nurses, who immediately set and wrap his ankle. David hisses as he is moved around into the right position, but Patrick is immediately there supporting him and clasping his hand. 

“Here’s something that will distract you.” He says, holding out a booklet of what look like colour swatches for paint, “You get to pick the colour of your cast!”

David sighs; great. Not only is he going to have to walk around with a massive plaster cast on his foot for the next month and a half, but it’s probably going to be some garish, ugly colour as well. 

He immediately rolls his eyes, and points to the black. “I’ll have that.” He says simply.

Patrick doesn’t seem satisfied with that and shakes his head. “You can’t have black, David. That’s so boring, and nobody will be able to write on your cast. Come on, there are loads of colours here.”

“I don’t want anyone to write on my leg. I have a reputation to maintain.” David says, cringing at him. 

“Come on David, at least look at the others. Look! You can get a toxic green one.”

David looks at him with abject horror, until he notices the small smirk gracing his lips. “Oh, you’re messing with me, aren’t you?”

“I am, I am.” Patrick says, smiling blindingly at him. David feels his chest compress at the sight of that smile and has to force himself not to get too familiar with the other man. 

Finally, the nurse turns to David with a questioning look. “So, did you pick a colour?” He asks, reaching out to take the book back from David, who nods, and points to one of the swatches. 

The nurse doesn’t blink an eye and pulls out a navy-blue roll of bandages to start wrapping the cast. Patrick watches with one eyebrow raised as David refuses to meet his eye. The whole process takes a little under ten minutes, and David is provided with crutches to allow him to leave the hospital. 

“You know, the blue is so dark it still means nobody will be able to write on it.” Patrick says as he hovers beside him, arms out and ready to assist. 

“You said I shouldn’t have black, so--” 

Patrick hums, and hesitates a while, but then continues, “You know, that colour is almost exactly the same as my shirt.” He says, plucking said shirt with his fingers as if to prove his point. 

David pales slightly, and tries to shrug, which is difficult to do with his arms in the crutches. “Really? I didn’t notice.”

“David!” Alexis says as they exit the automatic doors. She is stood against the wall waiting for them, and immediately rushes forward.

“Where have you been?” He hisses back, as Patrick supports him making the slow progress back towards the car. 

“I got an uber back to the carpark so I could collect the car!” She says. “I thought it would be easier for us to get back that way.”

“And you couldn’t have texted and let me know that?”

“Oh my God, I’m sorry alright!” She says, looking at his foot. “Did they not have black?”

David ignores that question and instead heads straight to the car. Patrick is with him every step of the way, and helps him fold himself into the passenger seat, stashing the crutches in the back. 

“Thank you for all your help today.” David says, as he steps back. “You really didn’t have to do everything you did.”

“It was no problem, David. I was happy to help.”

“Yes, thank you Patrick.” Alexis says, effectively ruining the moment with her presence as she starts the car. “You were like, a total lifesaver.”

Patrick looks awkwardly between them, and carefully closes David’s door, leaning in through the open window one final time. “I hope your ankle feels better soon, David.” He says softly. 

David tries to hide his smile, but it slips out the corner of his mouth as he gazes up softly at Patrick. For one of the first times in his life he wishes Alexis was off on some international adventure so he could have another moment alone with the other man, but she’s not, and soon enough they are pulling out of the parking space and heading out of the carpark.

Patrick stays where he was stood by the side of the car as they drive away, waving at the retreating vehicle, and David turns his head to look at him until they are out of sight.

*** 

“I can’t believe you didn’t even get his number.” Stevie says as they lie down in one of the empty rooms in the motel later that night. David has recounted his whole torturous day with detail, and she has politely listened as she drinks her wine straight from the bottle. David’s painkillers mean that he can’t partake, but he is enjoying relaxing with his friend for the rest of the day and having a good bitch about everything that managed to go wrong.

His mother had made her usual dramatics when he’d returned home with a large cast and had been taken away by Johnny to calm down. Alexis had seemed to sense that it would be better to make herself scarce for the rest of the day and had headed out to spend the night with Twyla, giving David the night to himself. 

David hums in agreement as he pushes his head further into the pillow. “It’s fine, I mean, he was obviously straight. Even if he wasn’t then he wouldn’t be interested in me, so--”

“He sounds pretty interested in you based on the fact that he followed a stranger to the hospital and stayed with you the whole time.”

“He was just nice. I think he was just nice.” 

“Who are you trying to convince?”

David sighs and throws one of the pillows at her, which she catches, and shoves behind her own head.

Their conversation is interrupted by the sound of a car pulling up at the motel. Stevie frowns and groans as the car engine turns off just outside the room door. 

“I thought you didn’t have any more bookings tonight?” David asks, as he turns to her. 

“Maybe they don’t have a booking. Your dad is covering the desk tonight, but I really don’t know whether or not he’s going to be able to book them in properly. I should probably go and help him.”

David groans, and reaches out a hand pathetically. “Will you help me up first?” He asks, shifting his legs to hang towards the floor and reaching for his crutches. “I need to go and get my painkillers.”

Stevie pulls him up and passes him his crutches, and they head out the motel room together. Before they can get far, however, David freezes as he looks up to see Patrick climbing out of his car. He has a bunch of red flowers in one hand, and a gift bag in the other, and is looking nervous. 

“Patrick?” David asks, shock evident in his voice. 

Patrick jumps as if surprised to see him and looks over, but he’s smiling when they meet eyes. “David! Thank god, I really didn’t want to knock on every door and inevitably get murdered looking for you.”

David sees Stevie in the corner of his eye making her leave and slipping back into the room they had just vacated. 

“What are you doing here?” He asks, as Patrick heads towards him slowly. 

At this, the other man falters, and in the low evening light, David can see a blush rising on his cheeks as he looks at the items in his hands nervously. “Um, well. I brought you something.”

“Flowers?”

“Well, yes,” He says, still looking down and reaching his hand into the gift bag to pull out David’s shoe. “But also, this.”

David smiles lightly at him. “What is this? Cinderella?”

“I don’t think it’ll go over your cast so I can’t see if it fits, but the general message was the same, yes.” He is shifting from foot to foot, and David can’t help but relish in watching as he fumbles around with something to say. “I had to sit through an incredibly long conversation with my roommate, Ray, to try and find out who you were, and he eventually mentioned that your family was living here, and I wanted to come and return this to you.”

“Oh,” David says, smirking at him slightly, “Well, that’s a lot of effort for a shoe.”

“Well, it’s a very nice shoe.” Patrick returns, smiling slightly more as he looks up at David properly for the first time. “And it belongs to this really nice guy, so- Maybe it was more of an excuse?”

“An excuse for what?”

“An excuse to see him again? And maybe to do what I was too afraid to do earlier.”

Patrick comes closer, until they are stood face-to-face a couple of steps away from each other.

“Oh, and what’s that?” David asks, breathlessly. 

“These are for you.” He holds the flowers out in front of him for David to take, which he does, slipping one hand out of his crutch with a smile, and looking at them fondly. 

“Was that it?”

“No,” Patrick replies, shaking his head and taking one final step. He gently cups David’s face with his hand and presses their lips together in a chaste kiss. It’s soft, and warm, and perfect. He’s the ideal gentleman, and David feels the warmth spreading from his lips all the way through his body. 

In his distraction, he ends up dropping the flowers, but doesn’t notice until Patrick has pulled back, looking at him for a reaction. 

“Um, could you grab those for me? I haven’t perfected bending down yet.” David whispers as they separate. 

Patrick looks confused, until he looks down and sees the flowers sat on the gravel at their feet. 

“Oh, of course.” He reaches down and picks them up, and David uses the opportunity to pull him back in gently just as he straightens up, for another kiss. 

Patrick hums in surprise and holds David’s hips in a stabilising gesture to keep him upright. When they pull away this time, David sways slightly on his one foot, and Patrick holds on to him, looking concerned. 

“Are you okay?”

“Mhm, just a little light-headed.” David replies. “I’m great.” 

“Okay- Okay, good.” Patrick says, letting out a sigh of relief as if he had been holding his breath for the whole conversation. “Maybe we could- I actually came because I was hoping to ask you- I mean. I wanted to see if you wanted to--”

“Will you go on a date with me?” David blurts out for him. 

Patrick looks up in surprise as his mumbling is cut-off. For a moment, David thinks he might have guessed wrong, but then his face breaks into the brightest smile and he nods. 

“Mhm,” He says, his glee evident as his whole body seems to celebrate for a moment, before he calms down. “Yes, yeah, I’d like that David.”

“Okay, good.” David replies slowly, looking upwards to try and keep his emotions in check. “Um, I should probably go and lie down; it’s time to take some painkillers, and I did fall off a mountain today so--”

“Sure, David. I can go, leave you to--”

“No! No, I didn’t mean- did you maybe want to stay with me for a bit. It’s still early and I was planning on ordering some food and watching a rom-com if you’re interested?”

Patrick looks at David like he’s just offered to give him one of his organs, all wide-eyed and excited. “Are you sure?”

“Mhm, I don’t- I don’t want you to leave yet, so- We can always have the date another day.”

“Okay, I’d like that.” Patrick says, nodding, and helping David hobble towards his door, the flowers and gift bag still clutched in one hand. “Hey, I was thinking, for our first date maybe we could go on a hike?”

David’s face drops and he glares at Patrick who just grins at him teasingly as they freeze on the walkway. “Too soon, Patrick.”

“Understood.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> David tries to navigate the early stages of his relationship whilst wearing the cast.

It’s been over a month since David and Patrick met at the top of a mountain, and the cast on David’s leg is officially becoming a problem. 

They’ve worked around it pretty well considering the circumstances; all their dates have been crutch-friendly. Patrick drives them everywhere and helps David in and out of the car, and despite frustrations about David’s date aesthetic with the garish blue bandages on his leg, they’ve been having fun. 

Of course, Patrick had had to be braver; David was physically incapable of making the first move most of the time in kissing or physical affection and is powerless to just accept what Patrick is willing to offer. Fortunately, it’s not like Patrick is withholding in this area, but it still grates on David to not be able to reciprocate in the ways he would like. 

And he really would like; Patrick is the kindest, most stable guy he’s ever dated before, but he is also extremely attractive, and David’s physical limits have restricted him from truly experiencing that to the best of his ability.

Having Patrick in his life made things vastly easier professionally as well. At first, he had simply offered to lend a hand with the store and help physically; lifting and moving things around to make it more accessible to David whilst he’s on the crutches. But soon enough, his interest is peaked, and he starts making more involved suggestions; ideas about new vendors and community outreach amongst the many. 

David finally gets sick of him dancing around the store making hopeful faces at him and invites him to invest in the business and become a partner at Rose Apothecary, which Patrick accepts; relieved to not have to ask. 

So, his life is better than it’s ever been before. Except for that he is constantly knocking things over, one section of his shin has been itching constantly for the last two weeks, and he’s starting to dread what his leg is going to smell like once all this is over. 

What makes all this worse is that privacy is also lacking for the pair, and since David’s mobility is seriously decreased, any ‘connecting’ that they might be doing in the first stages of their relationship is seriously negated. 

Make-outs in the store are fun but not possible for more than a few minutes since David can’t stand for long. Instead they have to rely on the rare occasion when Ray is out, or the motel is vacated, where David can lie on his back with Patrick draped over him, planting precious kisses on his waiting lips. 

It’s an evening after a busy day at the store that affords them this privacy one night at the motel. Alexis has gone out with Twyla, and his parents are otherwise engaged, so David invites Patrick back for a movie night in his room, which quickly dissolves into them laying across David’s bed, with Patrick straddling his lap.

David hums as he is kissed, smiling despite himself as Patrick teasingly presses closer, and then pulls back out of the reach of his lips. 

“Stop doing that.” He mutters, as Patrick does it again; sweeping his tongue into David’s open mouth and then leaning away, out of reach. 

“Mm, doing what?”

“Patrick,” David whines, pouting pathetically in a way which always works to get Patrick to pity him, and give him what he wants. It doesn’t fail him this time, and Patrick returns his pout to tease, but leans in and presses a firm kiss on his lips anyway. 

“Better?” He asks, cheekily. 

David growls, “I am going to destroy you once I’m out of this cast.” He mutters, not missing the way Patrick’s eyes lighten up, and then darken at the implications of that sentence.

“I’m looking forward to it.” He replies easily, moving down to kiss David again.

Unfortunately, the sound of David’s parents returning to the motel prevents them from going any further, and Patrick slides down to the side to lie next to David and return the pretence of watching the film that is playing on the small television. 

David can’t help but notice Patrick fidgeting, pulling at his sweatshirt to cover his crotch and burrowing down in the mattress as if to hide something, and can’t help but smile, pleased that he can have such an effect even with the massive ugly boot on his foot.

“You okay?” Patrick asks, catching him staring. 

“I’m getting the cast off in two weeks.” David says, flicking his eyes down to where Patrick has bunched his arms protectively over his crotch. 

Patrick just grins, “I guess we’ll have to make the most of it then.” 

Make the most of it? David frowns. What the hell does that even mean? Before he can open his mouth to ask, his mother is banging loudly on the door with flat hands as a warning of her impending presence and stepping into the room. 

*** 

David is still pondering what Patrick might have meant by this comment the next day. He heads into the store, a pair of loose shorts and a Givenchy sweater on, and struggles through the door just to find Stevie and Patrick already there leaning over the counter and laughing manically about something. 

He makes complaining noises as he gets one of his crutches caught in the door and ends up hopping around trying to free himself. Patrick and Stevie watch in interest; they know better than to try and help after he had exploded at them for treating him like a child a few short days ago. He regrets that statement now but refuses to go back on it and simply forces his way in to glare at them both. 

“Hi.” He says, with attitude, as he leans on one crutch to pull off his sunglasses. “Are we all just hanging out before work? Was there a text chain that I wasn’t on, or--?”

“Well, it’s not exactly before work, the store opened about half an hour ago.” Patrick says, rounding the counter to approach him. “And maybe you’d be on time if you just let me give you a lift like I offered?”

David sighs, “I enjoy the walk.” He says, as Patrick makes his way into his personal space and gives him a kiss on the cheek. He wants more, but he is powerless to actually take it, and he doesn’t want to ask, so he accepts the gesture and slowly makes his way to the back room to drop off his bag.

Stevie is watching with glee as he passes her, and he frowns at her. “What?” He asks, already feeling his temper flaring. 

“Nothing, nothing. It’s just- You look so graceful on the crutches. How are you going to keep Patrick interested once the cast is taken off?”

He gives her a sarcastic smile and passes the curtain. It’s not that the thought hasn’t passed his mind before. Patrick is naturally a caregiver, it’s what he does. David can’t say he hasn’t spent some time worrying about what will happen when Patrick no longer needs to take care of him on the day-to-day. 

He can hear them still chatting on the shop floor and momentarily has to fight the urge to hide in the back for the rest of the day. Thankfully, soon enough the bell rings signalling Stevie’s departure, and he slowly makes his way back around the curtain. 

Patrick is crouched at the refrigerator checking the dates of the food, but he straightens up as David appears. 

“You okay back there?” He asks, pausing and looking over. 

“Yeah. Yes. I’m fine, I’m fine. Just sick of this stupid cast.” David moans, leaning against the counter and shoving his crutches to lean into the wall for later. 

“I know, but you’ll be out of it soon.” Patrick says. He is tidying up his work as he speaks and heads to join David. “You must be excited for that.”

David just hums noncommittedly and turns to look at the books. With his physical abilities so lacking they have had to switch rolls to some extent. David had been very descriptive in explaining how Patrick should put stock out and design areas of the store, and Patrick had been teaching David the basics of book-keeping, including how to organise the stock-count spreadsheet, and how to work out profit margins. 

It isn’t what he would normally be doing; David is far more the aesthetic genius behind the store and Patrick was really brought in to focus on the numbers, but they’ve both had to learn to be flexible with their skills for the time being. 

“David?” Patrick repeats, pulling him out of his thoughts with a concerned look as he hovers on the other side of the counter. “What’s happening here? Are you not excited to be out of the cast?”

David hums again, but looks down to try and hide his expression, which Patrick obviously catches. 

“Come on, David! Talk to me--”

“I am fine!” David exclaims. “I don’t need you to baby me! I thought we’d been over this.”

Patrick goes on the defensive a little, and the frown on his face suggests that he’s a little hurt but David is too stuck in his own head to really care. “There’s a difference between me babying you and me looking after you, David. I think it’s a pretty normal thing to want to look after your- To want to look after someone you’re seeing.”

Patrick blushes at his slip-up and starts absent mindedly re-arranging the lip balms on the desk as David flails in front of him. 

“Well, you’re not going to be able to do it much longer so you might as well get used to it.” He says. Patrick looks like he’s about to respond but David holds a hand up to stop him. “Now, I’m going to the café to get drinks, which I’m perfectly capable of doing, and I don’t need any help.”

It would have been a better exit if he could stalk out of there and slam the door behind him but instead, he hops around whilst re-adjusting the crutches and hobbles his way towards the door, refusing to look at Patrick again whilst he does, who is following his actions with his head.

He makes it out of the door and turns back to see him looking at the ground with a broken expression on his face. For a moment, David feels guilt gnawing at his stomach, but his own warring emotions get the better of him and he makes the journey to the café as promised. 

*** 

The coffee run takes longer than it should have. It’s unsurprisingly extremely hard to carry a take-away tray of drinks and also use the crutches. He ends up carrying both crutches in one hand and hopping most of the way after Twyla opens the café door for him. 

When he arrives at the shop, he realises his error as he has no way of opening the door. He manages to use his elbow to move the handle but not enough to actually open it. 

Thankfully, or not, it swings open revealing Stevie looking at him with a judgemental expression on her face as she holds the door wide enough for him to enter and takes the drinks from his hand.

“I didn’t need your help.” David moans, but lets her do it, and re-adjusts his crutches to allow him to move more naturally. 

“A simple thank you would do.” Stevie replies, putting the drinks down on the counter. 

“Fine, thank you.” 

As he is saying this, Patrick emerges from the back and the sad expression on his face makes David want to run again. 

Instead, he nods towards the drinks. “I got you a tea.” He says quietly. 

“Thank you, David.” Patrick replies, taking it and sipping it slowly. 

Stevie looks between them like she’s watching a tennis match. “The air is decidedly icy in here. What did I walk in on?” She asks, frowning. 

“Why are you still here?”

“It’s my day off from the motel and my best and only friends are at work so I thought I would come and keep you company.”

David hums dismissively, but Patrick smiles slightly. “Well actually, Stevie, I have to go and collect the tote bags that David said he would get but he can’t because he can’t drive. You’re welcome to join me.”

“Wow.” David mutters, rolling his eyes and making his way back around the back. He has to manoeuvre a box which has fallen in his way, and it takes considerable effort, but he manages it without drawing too much attention to himself, although Patrick does watch him with a thoughtful look on his face.

“I would love that, thank you Patrick.” Stevie replies, raising an eyebrow at David. “Shall we?” 

They leave the store without much ceremony, or even a kiss goodbye, and David is alone.

*** 

Patrick returns from the vendor run with Stevie in a much better mood. Stevie had to return to the motel to deal with some issues Mr Rose was having with the computer, so it’s just the two of them. 

It’s been a relatively busy day for the store so far, and the afternoon offers much of the same. It gives David the opportunity to hide behind the desk on the small raised stool Patrick had bought for him, cashing up customers whilst Patrick works the shop floor.

David can tell that Patrick is happier because whenever there is a lull in business, he heads over and kisses David on the cheek, or on the lips, and offers to go on the second coffee run. He doesn’t know what Stevie must have said whilst they were out but whatever it is, it’s worked, and he is both frustrated and relieved by it. 

Finally, the day comes to an end and they start the evening routine. Patrick dances around David, his hands constantly skimming his waist as he passes, and kissing his shoulders as he perches at the desk adding up the profits from the day. 

When this is all finished, instead of turning the lights out and helping David to the door like he usually does, he drags some chairs to the front corner of the store and takes a seat. 

“Um, what are you doing?” David asks from where he has retrieved his bag and was expecting to head out for the day.

“Come and sit with me.” Patrick replies simply. “I’ve barely seen you all day.”

“Whose fault was that?” David asks, but gives in quickly when he watches Patrick’s eyebrows sink pleadingly. “Fine.”

He grabs his crutches to head across the store but finds a box already in his way. He rounds it but immediately bumps into the shelf which has been moved forward a couple of inches, causing a candle to wobble precariously. 

David frowns at it, confused, and tries to move across the room but finds his path blocked by various objects. He looks up to see Patrick watching him with some amusement on his face, and sighs. 

“You okay, David? Need some help over there?”

“Okay, fine.” He says, pouting and stomping his crutches on the ground moodily. “I’m not good at asking for help. But that’s not my fault.”

Patrick nods, and David can see a flash of guilt come across his face, as he fights his reflex to immediately stand up and lend a hand. But he maintains his ground, sat on the chair, and stares David down with a testing look.

“Can-I-have-some-help.” David mumbles quickly, looking at the ground. 

“What was that? I didn’t hear you?” Patrick asks, holding a hand up to his ear.

“Please can you help me?” David asks, forcing himself to say it slowly and deliberately. 

Patrick immediately shoots up from his chair and rushes across the shop floor, moving things out of David’s way on his journey over, and reaching out a supportive arm to lead him over to his little set up. 

“Thank you.” He breathes out as finally takes his seat and relaxes back into it. 

Patrick sits across from him and leans over so that their hands can clasp together.

“That was very mean, though.”

“I know, I’m sorry.” Patrick says, “I just- I want you to know that you can rely on my for things, and I want you to talk to me about things that are bothering you.”

David sighs, still hesitant, but Patrick tugs at his arm to get him to look up and he immediately calms when he sees his open brown eyes staring into his own. 

“I just- You’ve only ever known me when I’ve needed help, and I don’t want- I’m scared that you might get bored when I don’t need you to help me with everything anymore.”

He wishes he were looking away as he sees Patrick’s face crack open in front of him. He tries to take the words back, but before he can, Patrick leans forward and catches his mouth in an insistent kiss. 

“David, I will never get bored of you.” He says softly. “You are the most independent person I’ve ever met even with the crutches and cast. Also, I’m not here out of some weird saviour complex, I’m here because you make me laugh, and you make me feel things that I didn’t think I would ever get to feel before, and you look after me in other ways. You are the most supportive boyfriend I ever could have hoped for, so don’t ever think that you can’t ask me for things.”

David gapes at him, “I’m sorry, what did you just say?”

Patrick falters, “I said I won’t get bored of you.” He repeats, flushing red and finally looking away awkwardly. 

“Patrick.” David repeats, “Will you come here please?”

“What- why, I didn’t--”

David uses the hand that is still clasped in his to pull him over, feigning a strain until Patrick is on his feet in front of him. “Come here.” He repeats, pulling Patrick down so that he is perched on his good leg, carefully avoiding his cast. He wraps his arms snugly around his boyfriend’s waist and snuggles into his neck. “This will be so much easier when I have my leg back.” He mumbles, breathing in the now familiar scent of Patrick’s pine shower gel.

“I can think of a couple of other things that will be easier once you have your leg back.”

“Mm, who knew my boyfriend was such a horn-dog.” David teases, his nose still rubbing up and down his neck, as Patrick rolls his eyes and smiles. “I’m sorry for being difficult.”

“You weren’t difficult, David. I just didn’t want you to push me away when I want to be here with you.” Patrick replies, as if it’s the easiest thing in the world to say. 

Maybe it is easy for him, David thinks, as he looks into his boyfriend’s sincere eyes, and smiles. He gives a little tug at his waist to pull him closer so their lips can finally connect. It’s a chaste kiss; this is a place of business after all, but it’s a relief to feel like they are on the same page.

“Thank you, David.” Patrick says as they separate.

“For what?”

“For letting me be here with you.”

David tries to fight a smile but fails and rolls his eyes upwards in an attempt to act nonchalant. “Well, thank you for being here, I guess. And for coming to find me on that mountain.”

“I’ll always come and find you David.” Patrick says, grinning as he kisses him again, his arms looped around his neck, regardless of who might be watching through the large front windows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so glad people liked the original meet-cute so I wanted to add a little addition for you - Hope you enjoyed this as well. 
> 
> Please let me know what you thought in the comments! They genuinely make my day and every single one is so appreciated. 
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> David finally gets his cast off.

When it finally comes to David’s appointment to remove his cast, he is reluctant to allow Patrick to come with him. Of course, Patrick insists, again, to come to the hospital with him. He doesn’t take no for an answer, and soon enough they’re in the car on the way to Elmdale. 

“You really didn’t have to come.” He says, sulking in the passenger seat pushed all the way back to accommodate his plastered leg. 

“Of course I was coming, David.” Patrick says, looking over at him from the driver seat and frowning at him. “Why wouldn’t I come?”

“It’s probably going to be really boring; I really don’t know why you wanted to.”

“How else were you going to get to the appointment? Also, Ray is away at a conference this weekend so this way we can go straight home and you can show me all your skills once you’ve got your leg back.”

David snorts, and rolls his eyes, but can’t stem the sinking feeling in his gut. This feels too intimate, somehow, Patrick driving him to his appointment and looking after him during his recovery. Despite how much Patrick had already proved that he wanted to look after David, he is so afraid of getting his hopes up or doing anything to scare his boyfriend away. This includes showing him the dirty dry skin that is currently residing just underneath the plaster on his leg.

They arrive at the hospital and go straight through to the plaster room. “Okay, so we’re going to use the drill saw to remove the cast, and then we’ll see how good your flexibility is.” The nurse says, pulling out the machinery as David perches on the end of a bed. 

“Does he need to leave for this?” David asks, gesturing at Patrick who is stood by his side, his hands in his pockets. 

“No, it’s fine, your friend can stay.” The nurse says easily.

“Um, but he’s my boyfriend. So maybe that means that he should leave--”

The nurse frowns at him, but shakes her head regardless, and sets to focusing on his leg. Patrick shuffles closer and bumps his knee against David’s side affectionately. 

“I can leave if you want me to, David. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.” He says quietly. 

“No, no, no, no. Don’t leave.” David says, eyes widening in panic at the sight of the plaster saw and reaching blindly for Patrick’s hand and clasping it desperately. “Please don’t leave.”

“Okay, David. I’m not going anywhere.”

David knew his foot wouldn’t be the prettiest thing straight out of the cast, but it’s so much worse than he had expected. His hair is matted together and dirty, and slightly sticky with the remnants of the plaster. 

He reflexively reaches out a hand to cover Patrick’s eyes, who flinches and laughs, trying to squirm out of the way. 

“David--”

“Stop, you can’t look.”

The nurse is watching on with amusement written on her face. 

“David, I’m driving us home, I’m going to need my eyes back at some point.”

“Okay. Okay.” David says, nodding but holding his hand in place. “But you can only look at the road, you can’t look at me.”

Patrick smiles, his eyes still covered, “But David, I always want to look at you.”

“I knew you shouldn’t have come; as soon as you open your eyes, you’re going to break up with me on the spot.”

“I’m going to start moving your foot around to check your mobility.” The nurse says, “But you keep talking, and just let me know if you feel any twinges.”

David nods, and whilst he’s distracted, Patrick slips out from under his hand and steps back.

“No,” David whines. The nurse looks up questioningly, but he shakes his head at her to show that it was unrelated and turns back at his boyfriend who is gazing at him with his now customary heart eyes. “Stop it,” he mumbles, but he’s smiling as Patrick takes his face by the hands and presses a quick kiss to his lips.

“I told you before that I broke my wrist when I was in high school, right?” Patrick says, “I’m not gonna be phased by anything here.”

“Okay but a hand is very different to a foot, and this particular foot hasn’t been cleaned in two months, so I need you to keep your eyes up here, and your nose shut preferably.”

Patrick giggles at that, but he does keep his eyes on David’s face, using his thumb to stroke over David’s eyebrows and eye lashes, mapping out the shape of his cheeks, nose, and mouth, where he rests his thumb gently against his cupid’s bow.

“I’m still here,” He says quietly, and David relaxes under his touch. “It would take a lot more than this to scare me away.”

“Oh,” David breathes, as Patrick’s left hand joins his right in caressing over his face silently.

The nurse taps his shin and instructs him to slowly stand up by the bed. He does, with Patrick’s support, and smiles as he stretches up and balances himself on his two feet. 

“How does that feel?” 

“Great, thank you.” David says.

“You’ll need to go easy, and we will send you home with a temporary boot that you can put on and take off as you need it to keep your ankle steady, but other than that you’re all set. You will have one final check up in a week to track your progress, but you’re good to go home.”

“Do we need to know anything about the recovery process?” Patrick asks, turning to the nurse from where he is holding David’s forearm with an iron clad grip. 

“I’ll get you a pamphlet to follow, but it’s nothing out of the ordinary. General healthy lifestyle, a balance diet and water. You’ll need to take it easy physically for a while; try to stay off your feet and no strenuous activity.”

Patrick snorts as David pulls a face, and they head out of the hospital doors towards the car. 

*** 

“Can we stop at the motel? I need to take like seven showers to clean this leg.”

“Don’t you have your bag in the back? You can shower when we get to Ray’s.” Patrick replies, looking over at David from where he is driving. 

David pouts pathetically and makes a whining noise. “But- that’s not- then you might see it.”

“I could already see it, David. All I would have to do is look down, your leg is right there.”

David immediately leans over to the back seat, pulling one of Patrick’s old sweatshirts from the back and laying it over his leg dramatically. “There, now you can’t.”

“Baby, I don’t care about the leg. Can’t we just go back to Ray’s, this is our first real chance at privacy. I just want to keep you for myself for a bit.”

There’s silence for a moment, and David nods silently at him, smirking slightly. 

“What?” Patrick asks. “What is this?” He gestures at where David is wiggling in his seat the way he only does when he’s really happy about something.

“Nothing.” He says, waving it off. 

“What?!”

“It’s nothing. Can we get pizza tonight?” David asks, looking out of the window adamantly.

“Of course, we can always get pizza.” Patrick replies, peeking out of the corner of his eye to watch David suspiciously. 

“Thank you, honey.”

Patrick coughs in surprise at the pet name, and tries to cover it with his hand, nodding and shaking his head repetitively.

“You okay, baby? Did you breathe in your spit or something?”

Patrick chuckles nervously, flushing bright red and unable to keep the smile of his face. “Uh, yeah, yeah. I’m good, I’m good.” He says, rubbing a thumb against his chin casually. 

“Are you sure, you’re looking a little flushed.”

Patrick rolls his eyes and just smirks at him. “We’re almost home, now. Are you going to let me take you straight back to Ray’s and make out with you on the couch, or did you still want to stop at the motel?”

“Mm, you made a winning case for Ray’s. Let’s skip the motel for now, sweetheart.”

Patrick chuckles shyly again, and grins as he turns in to Ray’s drive and puts the car in park. Before they can get out, he leans across the central console and presses an insistent kiss on David’s lips. He falters, surprised, but returns the kiss and smiles against his lips. 

Patrick makes his way down David’s face to suckle at his neck. “I’m so excited to have you all to myself.” He murmurs. David gasps as he bites down. “Behind a locked door. All for me.”

David groans, “Mm, can we get behind the locked door please? Otherwise we’re going to get arrested for indecent exposure.”

“Indecent is the word for it.” Patrick growls, which makes David cackle against him and push him back into his seat. “Okay, yes, locked door, let’s go.”

*** 

As soon as they get inside the house, David rushes up the stairs for his shower, still slightly unstable on his newly healed leg, but more eager to get the stench of hospitals and dirt from his body. 

“I’ll order the pizza.” Patrick yells up after him, chuckling as David shouts something back but it’s muffled through the bathroom door. 

By the time David re-emerges; freshly soft and clean, the pizza has already arrived and is placed out on the coffee table. 

Patrick turns to watch him approach from where he’s sat on the couch, “Better?” He asks, as David flops down to recline across the couch and place his head in Patrick’s lap. 

“Mhm, I’m never moving again.”

Patrick cards his hands through his hair fondly and leans over to grab a slice of pizza. “It’s a shame you won’t be able to eat anything then. You can’t eat whilst lying down, it’s not good for digestion.” He teases, waving it a few inches from David’s face.

“Do you really want me to move?” David asks, watching as Patrick’s face drops and he pouts. “Because I can, I can just sit up and sit over there so that we can eat--”

Before he can finish the sentence, Patrick tugs at him to sit up, and immediately pulls him over to sit sideways across his lap. 

David winces as he adjusts, and Patrick’s hands immediately go to his foot to stroke across the bone there. “I’m sorry,” He whispers, “Is your ankle okay?”

“Mhm, it’s fine.” He replies, loosely wrapping his arms around his neck, “Where were we?” He asks, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively and biting his lips in a seductive way. 

Patrick hums, leaning in close enough to breath against his lips, before pulling back and reaching for the pizza again. 

“Here, open up.”

“But you promised making out on the couch,” David whines, “Ooh, maybe I could eat it out of your mouth.”

“David! That’s disgusting,” Patrick says, shaking his head and pulling a face at him.

“Mm, I know, but now you kind of want to try it, huh?”

Patrick just holds up a slice to David’s mouth and presses against the seam of his lips. David hums a laugh and opens up, letting him feed him the pizza gently, eyes locked on his tongue as it darts out to catch some rogue sauce from his lip. 

“Good?”

“So good.”

“Hmm.”

They finish off the pizza in much the same fashion. David eats far more than Patrick, who seems to find more enjoyment in watching his boyfriend than anything else. He chews the final bite slowly, shifting further onto Patrick’s lap and tightening his grip to bring them closer together. 

“This is nice.” He says, burying his head in Patrick’s neck and cwtching up into him. “I like doing this.”

“Yeah?”

“Mhm, I like having you all to myself.”

“David, you always have me all to yourself.”

David smiles but shakes his head. “That’s not true; at the store I have to share you with the customers, when we’re here I have to share you with Ray, and at the motel I have to share you with my family. I never get you all to myself.”

“You’ve got me, baby.” He says softly, grinning as David smiles and hides his face. “Do you really like that that much?” He asks, and David squirms when Patrick tugs affectionately at the short hairs next to his ear, encouraging him to look up. 

“You’re the one that almost crashed the car because I called you honey.” David says grumpily. 

Patrick smiles slightly, “I like it; I like the names. Makes me feel like I’m yours.”

“You like that?”

“David, I love that.” He says earnestly, “I love feeling like yours.”

David hums, “Well you are mine.” He says grinning, “All mine, honey.”

Patrick doesn’t even try to hide the way his face flushes at that. 

David kisses Patrick’s neck softly. “Can we take this upstairs?” He whispers; “I have a brand-new leg and I want to show you all the things I can do with it.”

“Hmm, very sexy.”

“Uh, yeah, I sure hope so. We have a crucial opportunity here, Patrick. Now, take me to bed.”

Patrick nods, silent for a moment, before shifting to stand up, leaving David perched on the couch. He moves to follow him, but Patrick stops him, bending down and pulling David into his arms with a groan. 

“Okay, this isn’t gonna work.” David says, shaking his head and letting his legs fall to hit the ground. “I have my leg now and I should be using it.”

“Hmm, I was hoping that you’d say that. I really don’t know how I would have managed the stairs.”

“Rude!”

Patrick leads David upstairs carefully, and soon enough they are behind a second door and in the bedroom. Due to the cast, they hadn’t gotten much of a chance to use the double bed so far. Ray lives and works in the house, so it’s rare that they have the opportunity to spend time together in Patrick’s room, and the cast stopped them from achieving the discretion required for them to connect with him downstairs. 

So, having a free leg allows David to view the room in a whole different way. He immediately pushes Patrick down to lie back on the bed and climbs to straddle his hips. His ankle makes a pathetic twinge but nothing to justify stopping so he ignores it.

Patrick moans as David kisses a path along his neck, and tugs at his t-shirt. 

“Up,” he commands, pushing at the piece of clothing until he is lying underneath him shirtless, grinning up at him. David strokes his thumbs over Patrick’s nipples as he looks down at him. “You’re so gorgeous.” He mumbles, blushing, still not used to saying such vulnerable words. 

“David- Kiss me.” Patrick whines, pulling at his neck till their lips finally connect.

They lay together for a while, lips locked and David’s tongue administrating soft strokes of exploration into Patrick’s mouth. 

“Shuffle back.” David says, and Patrick obliges, propping himself up on his elbows to moves slowly back to hit the pillows. David pounces, more confident than he perhaps should be, and flinches as he settles into position above Patrick. 

His ankle is at a strange angle when knelt, so he shifts to stick it out to the side, ending up with a Spiderman-esque pose over Patrick, who is unable to keep from laughing at him.

“Stop it!” David whines, pulling away. “This is meant to be a moment for us when I show you how sexy I can be.”

At this, Patrick softens under him, and reaches out a hand to cup his cheek. “David, you must know already that I find everything you do sexy.”

“But we never got to have a tearing each other’s clothes off and having sex in the back-room phase. We’ve been together for like, two months now!”

“Okay, shift,” Patrick sits up and moves David by the hips, so they are lying on their sides facing each other. “I need you to listen to me very carefully right now, okay? I am insanely attracted to you; more than I have ever been to anyone in my life, and that’s with the cast on. Granted I was also into you when I first saw you on the hike but that’s not the point. You, David, are the sexiest person I have ever met, and whilst it has been difficult for us to physically express this in the last few weeks, it certainly hasn’t stopped us from having a ‘tearing each other’s clothes off phase.’”

“I mean, it sort of has--”

“Shh, let me finish. The things we have done together, whilst relatively limited because of your leg, have been the first time I have ever actually enjoyed sex. I’ve been pouncing on you in my head, and also on the rare occasion when we have the opportunity, physically, ever since we first kissed outside the motel. So, please don’t think you have to prove anything to me, because I already know how sexy you are. I’ve been popping inconvenient boners every time we kiss since you first showed me what you can do with your mouth.”

David sighs, and leans over to kiss Patrick lightly. 

“Now, I definitely want to make the most of the privacy, and I am possibly equally as excited as you are that you’re out of your cast. But I don’t want you to push yourself and end up hurting your ankle more.”

At this, David huffs grumpily, and moves to cross his arms in a sulk, but Patrick catches him before he can. 

“That doesn’t mean nothing, David. That means, let’s slow the pace a little and enjoy ourselves, hm? And maybe I should be on top, because no matter how attracted I am to you, and I am very attracted, I can’t promise I’ll be able to keep myself from laughing if you get back into that weird crouch position.”

David rolls his eyes, “Ugh, why do I even like you so much?” But he’s grinning as Patrick rolls him onto his back and lays along his side, perfectly positioned to connect their mouths in a burning kiss. 

“Hmm. Thank God you do.” Patrick mumbles in return before leaning in to kiss him again.

He pauses once more, which earns a disgruntled noise from David, but he stays close, his nose brushing against David’s cheek. 

“You have no idea what you do to me.”

“I mean, I have some idea.” David retorts, knocking their hips together teasingly just to get a reaction before tugging him back down. “Now shut up and kiss me Lois Lane.”

“David! That-that’s Superman.” Patrick says through laughter.

“What did I literally just say? Why are you not kissing me right now?”

So, he does.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this is it! I definitely wasn't intending on extending any of these but this one felt like it needed just one more instalment, I hope you've enjoyed it. Let me know what you thought in the comments!

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this little fluffy one! David is so smitten that he is willing to abandon his aesthetic for 6-8 weeks and wear a blue cast; if that's not commitment I don't know what is.


End file.
